


Surprise, There's a Person in There!

by namestaybutfriendscallmetrash



Category: Homestuck
Genre: A couple others too but they're not outwardly named, F/M, Post-Canon, Sadstuck, Written for Tumblr, dated really close to present time, it's hilarious to me okay, so I'd better tag, these two are awkward as hell, this story starts out weird, turns kinda bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 10:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8886631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namestaybutfriendscallmetrash/pseuds/namestaybutfriendscallmetrash
Summary: Your name is JANE CROCKER and you're WONDERING WHY your OLD REFRIGERATOR is CHAINED SHUT and in the MIDDLE OF A FOREST. 

 
 
 
 
Written for Gamzee Week 2k16, prompt ==> Post-game/redemption arc





	

Jane stood in front of the extremely out of place appliance, not even knowing what to think.  
She had decided to go for a stroll upon coming home this evening while her dinner was in the oven, and sure you weren't _supposed_ to leave home with the oven on (she of all people knew that for sure) but quite frankly she didn't care. Besides, she'd just be out for five minutes to see if there were any wild berries in the forest near her home, which she had never been to for some reason, and now...  
She had found a _refrigerator_ ?  
And not just any refrigerator, but the one she had in her home when she was younger, before all that SBURB business. Yes, she recognized the magnets on it, and an old drawing, but she definitely didn't recognize the chains.  
So the question- why the hell was her old refrigerator chained up and dumped in the forest behind her home? And how long had it been there?  
Jane leaned down and rattled one of the chains, testing its strength and-  
Wait.  
Did the fridge just... Honk?  
No, that can't be right, fridges don't do that. She let go and the chain rattled again, and there was the sound again, she definitely heard it that time. A quiet, raspy sounding honk had came from inside the old appliance.  
Jane kneeled down beside it and cautiously held her ear to the tarnished white surface. Was that a faint scratching sound inside? She was beginning to become concerned. Maybe there was some sort of animal inside? Or maybe some old machine?  
Maybe she should... _investigate._  
She uncaptchalogged her old detective's hat and put it on, then placed both hands on the chained appliance and spoke.  
"Hello, is there something in there?"  
This time she heard a strained whine, and she stood.  
"Worry not trapped creature, Detective Jane will save you!"  
She retrieved her fork staff and raised it, looking for a lock. When she didn't find one she settled for repeatedly thrusting it through the various chain segments, careful not to stab through the surface of the refrigerator.  
Kicking the broken chains aside she held up her fork, always ready for a surprise as any respectable gumshoe should be, and opened the door with it.  
It stuck for a moment but with a little effort it came open, and she gasped in surprise when a sick looking troll boy sat up from inside.  
He looked side to side with shocked eyes, then up at Jane. He had purple bags under them and his long, tangled hair hung over his pale face, blotchy painted skin pulled taught over sharp features.  
"Oh dear, are you alright-"  
Before Jane could finish he jumped out and ran, only getting a few meters away before stopping. He stumbled and looked around again, before taking a slow step-  
And falling flat on his face.  
"S-sir!"  
Jane ran over and knelt beside him, cautiously placing a hand on his shoulder.  
He was definitely unconscious.  
Jane carefully looked over the bony appendages for any obvious injuries before picking him up and carrying him back to her home.  
She was glad for once to be fairly isolated, as she wasn't sure that any neighbors she may have ended up with would take kindly to her walking out of a forest carrying a dirty, emaciated troll unconscious over her shoulder. Definitely an easy situation to misread.  
When she got home she put him down on the kitchen table she had luckily cleared off for once before she left. She stood for a moment, unsure what to do, before walking to the bathroom and retrieving a damp facecloth. She brought it to the kitchen and used it to clean the dirt and old paint off of the troll's face, revealing a few small cuts but most prominently three long scars running parallel from the top right to the bottom left of his face.  
"My, my, you've been through some real trouble, haven't you?"  
She spoke softly as she moved down to his neck, then his arms. She was sure there was more to clean under that scuffed up T-shirt and torn pajama pants but she decided trying to clean that would be invasive, to say the least. Whoever this guy was he already didn't trust her, and the last thing she needed was to get attacked while trying to clean under a stranger's shirt.  
She dabbed peroxide on the small cuts and scrapes, and applied Band-Aids to a few bad ones on his hands.  
She awkwardly stood back and looked at him again when she was done. Had she ever seen him before? She didn't think so. Maybe one of her troll friends knew who he was, he looked about the same age as them, she thought. Plus, they all had symbols on their shirts relating to astronomical signs, and she was pretty sure that was a purple Capricorn sign on his...  
Then again, there were _a lot_ of different trolls on Earth C. She figured she should wait until he woke up to ask him.  
Speaking of waking up, he seemed to be stirring a bit from time to time now- he'd probably get up soon.  
Jane ran up to her closet, then realized that chances were she didn't have any clothes that would fit him- tough he was thinner than her, he was also significantly taller.  
But, maybe he wouldn't mind so much? After all, he'd probably just be glad to get out of that messed up outfit he was still wearing. Yes, that she was sure of. What a good hostess she was being!  
She grabbed a thin pullover and a pair of sweatpants before returning to the kitchen. She placed the garments on a chair and, suddenly remembering dinner, opened the oven to check on it.  
She had made a lasagna, enough for her and then some, with intentions of taking some to her friends. What luck that she had made a meal enough for company when she didn't even know she would have it!  
Speaking of company, she heard a significant amount of movement behind her and turned to see the troll starting to sit up now, expression foggy.  
"Hello, good to see you're finally awake!"  
She smiled as he looked up at her groggily before widening his eyes and looking around in a panic again.  
Jane frowned and took a step forwards.  
"Hey, no need to worry, you're not in danger! You don't need to run again, you may hurt yourself."  
The troll looked at her hesitantly then nodded, though he still held an air of uncertainty.  
"Besides, it'd be a shame if you left now- dinner's just about ready."  
She delivered the words with a smile, then turned around to retrieve dishes from the cupboard.  
"Where am I?"  
His voice was low and raspy, and he sounded like it was hurting him to speak. She turned around and smiled again- first impressions are key!  
Or, second impressions in this case. The first one didn't go well... _at all._  
"Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I brought you to my home. I didn't really know what else to do, after you, uh, passed out."  
He nodded again.  
"Hey, if you want, there are some clean clothes on that chair, since yours are kind of ruined. Bathroom's there if you want to change or anything."  
He slid off the table and grabbed the clothes, turning them over in his hands. He turned his head towards Jane and, finally, smiled back.  
"Bitchin'. Thanks."  
Jane stared in shock as he gave her a thumbs up then walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Did she hear that right? Surely she misheard...  
And even if she didn't, he was probably in shock, right? Yes, that made sense.  
She turned back to dinner, laughing a bit. Who was this guy? She laughed a little harder now, replaying the scene in her head. One second he's terrified, the next he's got this goofy grin on his face and is completely chill.  
She took a steadying breath (she hadn't realized how much she was actually laughing) and pulled the food out of the oven, placing it on the counter. From the cupboard she grabbed two bowls and two cups, and two forks from the drawer, too.  
Before long the troll boy returned, looking awkward but content in Jane's strangely fitting clothes, and sat down at her table.  
She happily brought over the two bowls of food then walked over to her _current_ refrigerator.  
"Want something to drink?"  
His face lit up.  
"Got any Faygo? I'd kill a mother fucker for a glass of wicked elixir right now."  
Jane snorted.  
"No, but I've got some orange crush left over if you want."  
He gladly accepted and she poured them both a glass of the fizzy orange drink, making a mental note to buy more before the next time Dirk was to visit.  
"Thanks."  
She nodded and sat down, taking a bite of her food before initiating conversation.  
"So, what's your name?"  
The troll looked up from the food he had been cautiously poking with the fork.  
"Gamzee Makara- mirthful messiah, self taught subjugulator. Pleased to make your mother fucking acquaintance, sister."  
Jane raised her eyebrows humorously. Was this guy for real? Also, hadn't she heard that name before? she could swear she had.  
"Yes, nice to... meet you. I'm Jane Crocker, by the way."  
She took another bite of her food, and noticed he was staring. He looked down at his own and cautiously picked up a forkful as she had, smelling it.  
"What, never had lasagna before?"  
He shook his head and tasted it, and by the look on his face he clearly enjoyed it. Jane laughed quietly to herself as he shoveled the food into his mouth, like he hadn't eaten in weeks-  
But what if he _hadn't_ ? Considering the condition he was in, she definitely wouldn't be surprised if that were true. She wondered how long trolls could go without food- probably a long time. She remembered that time Kanaya got so into her sewing that she forgot to eat for a few days, yet seemed unaffected. But then there was Karkat, who complained about being hungry more often than anyone else she knew- though _he_ was just like that.  
Man, trolls sure are weird.  
"Hey, Gamzee, if you don't mind telling me, _why_ were you chained up out there?"  
He paused his eating with an expression that made Jane uncomfortable for reasons she couldn't quite place, then spoke.  
"Let's just say, I've got some friends who definitely aren't my friends anymore."  
She looked into the surprisingly cold eyes for a moment more, with just a bit of fear, before he blinked and his face softened again. Grinning like nothing happened he took a sip of his drink.  
Jane shook her head then smiled again, though this time there was some uncertainty.  
"So how long were you locked up there?"  
He looked at the ceiling thoughtfully.  
"Hm, I dunno. How long since the meteor landed?"  
Meteor? Did he mean...  
"The one that all the trolls from Alternia lived on?"  
"Yeah."  
"My, that must've been at least three years ago now, maybe more..."  
"Mother fuck. Been in that fridge there for way long."  
Jane cocked her head to the side.  
"There's no way you were in there that whole time, that's impossible!"  
Gamzee shook his head as he responded.  
"Swear to the fuckin' messiahs, bitch put me in there on the way to the new world or whatever and I haven't been out since."  
How someone could survive three years in a refrigerator was beyond Jane, and quite frankly she didn't believe it. She did, however, believe it had been a _very long_ time and that he had suffered some sort of mental trauma.  
"So then I'm guessing you're from Alternia?"  
"Hatched and raised."  
Jane uncaptchalogged her cellphone and held it up for him to see.  
"Well if you want I could call one of the others-"  
"DON'T!"  
He had suddenly stood up and hit her hand out of the air, and was now holding it against the table. Jane stared wide eyed at the now fear struck face of the tall troll in front of her, and he stared back for a moment before sitting down again, frowning.  
"Uh, s-sorry."  
Jane pulled her hand back as soon as he released it, rubbing it gently.  
"Just, don't tell any of them I'm here, okay? I'll leave any time you want, and never come back, but they can't know I'm out. I don't want to go back in, and I'm sure the spider bitch would do it in a second."  
Jane frowned skeptically, but didn't say anything.  
They finished the meal in silence.  
Jane wasn't sure what was up with this guy, or who 'the spider bitch' was (though she _did_ have a guess), but she figured that maybe it would be a good idea to do as he asked and not tell his 'friends' that he was here. Not yet, at least.  
She picked up both dishes as she stood with a cautious smile, which he returned with an air of relief.  
"Hey, you don't have to leave just yet if you don't want to. There's an extra bedroom upstairs if you'd like to stay the night, and I can help you figure out what you're going to do afterwards tomorrow."  
"Thanks a ton, sis... Jane. Nicest mother fucker I know."  
She raised an eyebrow questioningly, but otherwise ignored the fact that he simultaneously complimented her and called her a mother fucker. What a character.  
She put the dishes in the sink and turned towards the stove, letting out a surprised squeak when she nearly ran into Gamzee. She looked up at him- he stood a full foot taller than her she now realized- curiously.  
"How the hell...?!"  
His goofy smile faltered a bit, and he spoke.  
"Sorry, didn't mean to get you your spook on. Just wanted to know if I could help with anything- as thanks."  
Jane stared for a moment then laughed, probably louder than the situation warranted.  
"Oh, hoo hoo hoo! You got me good there, oh _my_ ! You're going to have to teach me how you moved that quietly, and quickly!"  
Gamzee smiled widely and laughed a bit too, his strange honking sounds contrasting comically with Jane's cheery giggles.  
After a few seconds and a deep breath, Jane calmed down and, still smiling widely, grabbed a baking book from the counter beside her.  
"I do have something you can help with, if you'd like. Do you bake?"  
Gamzee nodded, then stopped and made a face.  
"Well, not since I left my hive."  
Jane shrugged.  
"I'm sure you'll remember."  
She through the pages, stopping on one and holding the book open toward Gamzee.  
"Ever made a pie before?"  
His eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly.  
"Pie was all I made, I lived off of those mother fuckers!"  
Jane laughed a bit and placed the open book on the counter, then began retrieving ingredients for the crust.  
"Well I haven't decided what kind to make yet, what's your favourite?"  
"Sopor."  
She tilted her head in confusion as she turned back to him.  
"Sopor? Isn't that the stuff you guys sleep in?"  
"Heh, yeah."  
"Is that... safe to eat?"  
He frowned a little.  
"No."  
"O-oh..."  
Jane stood awkwardly for a moment, before grabbing a basket of peaches from a shelf beside her.  
"You like peach?"  
Gamzee gave a wonky grin and a thumbs up.  
Together they worked for the next couple hours to make this pie, and although it admittedly wasn't Jane's best, it was probably the most fun she'd had making a pie in a long time.  
She didn't know why she didn't bake with her friends more often, she always had more fun with others than by herself! Baking this one with a _virtual stranger_ justified that point even more.  
Though, she kind of felt weird calling him a stranger to be honest. Sure they had just met, but the way he did everything was so casual, and like they'd known each other for years. Plus, some of the things he did rang familiar to her. Something he'd say or do, she'd _swear_ she'd heard it before...  
When they put the finished pie up to cool, it was already after 9. They did a bit of cleanup then Gamzee followed her upstairs and into the spare bedroom, which was luckily still made from the last time it was needed. She waved goodnight and returned to her own room, changing into pajamas and sitting in bed. She turned her bedside lamp off, hesitated a moment, then turned it back on.  
She just wanted to find a few things out before tomorrow.  
She pulled out her phone and opened PesterChum, scrolling down to Roxy's name.

gutsyGumshoe [GG] began pestering  tipsyGnostalgic [TG]

GG: Hey Roxy, I have a question for you- Get back to me when you're not busy!   
TG: yo janey  
TG: never too busy to talk to you ;)  
TG: what do u want to know?   
GG: So I was talking to someone earlier today and they mentioned one of the Alternia trolls, but one I didn't know.  
GG: I think they said his name was Gamzee?  
GG: Do you know who he was?   
TG: uh i think so  
TG: yeah, callie knows him, she talked about him like he was her dad or something idk  
TG: saw him a couple times in my timeline too and he was totes crazy   
GG: Oh yeah?  
GG: What did he do?   
TG: well first i saw him kill terezi and karkat :(  
TG: but turns out he also killed a few others on the meteor :((  
TG: double :(   
GG: :o   
TG: yeah  
TG: :o is good too  
TG: he died tho   
GG: I see...  
GG: What about the one from this timeline, what happened to him?   
TG: ok ur not gonna believe it  
TG: but vriska locked him up in ur old fridge like forever ago  
TG: Like before every1 met up  
TG: before we won  
TG: pretty sure he never got let out so hes prob dead in a fridge somewhere   
GG: Goodness.   
TG: hey y r u so curious about it anyway   
GG: Oh, no reason.  
GG: I was just wondering.   
TG: aight  
TG: listen callies tryna get my attention so i gotta go soon  
TG: anything else u want?   
GG: No, no, you go do what you need to do.  
GG: Thanks for humoring me, Roxy :B  
GG: See you later!   
TG: yeah c u ;) 

Jane put her phone away and got up, walking across the room. She locked the door then went back to bed.  
Just in case.  
\---  
Jane rolled over in bed, just barely conscious, and nuzzled deeper into her covers.  
Then she heard a sound.  
she stretched and looked at her clock-  
3:27am  
-then rolled over again, irritated.  
But she heard the sound again.  
She sat up and listened, trying to identify it. As she listened closer she realized it was a soft tune, like someone humming or singing, but every now and then there was a break that resulted in a louder vocal sound.  
At first she thought of nearly every horror movie she'd ever seen and panicked, trying to justify the voice, before she remembered that she had another person in the house at the time.  
_Phew._  
She got up from the bed and walked to the door, half irritated and half curious. She quietly leaned her ear to the door and listened, but it didn't give her any better of an idea of what exactly was going on.  
Should she open the door and go find out? Honestly she was a bit afraid to bother Gamzee now as he seemed to switch between attitudes very quickly and unpredictably, but also because Roxy said not even six hours ago that he (or another version of him, or possibly both!) had _killed_ a bunch of people.  
Oh, but she was curious. _Really_ curious.  
And she figured that if she wanted to sleep she'd better stop the sound, right?  
Right.  
She slowly opened the door and peeked out. The hall was empty as she had expected, and the guest bedroom closed as she has left it. The light wasn't even on, or she would've seen it coming from under the door.  
She tiptoed the few steps from her room to the next with extreme caution, not wanting to squeak any boards and potentially give away her position.  
She may have been a self taught detective, but you'd be wrong if you thought that didn't make her a damn good one.  
Stopping just before the door she listened again, and was able to hear much better this time. She realized now that the reason she couldn't make out the words before we because they weren't English, no, it was a language she had never really heard before, she thought. The tune was unfamiliar but it felt like a lullaby of sorts, very light and soft-  
Then it broke for a second.  
The voice cracked and stuttered in that second- was that a sob? Was he crying?  
Jane thought so.  
She lightly put her hand on the doorknob, then hesitated.  
Was it okay for her to interfere? Was this _really_ any of her business?  
Would he react... dangerously?  
Probably not, no, maybe.  
Well, too bad.  
She turned the nob and opened the door just enough to look in, and spoke softly.  
"Gamzee? Are you okay?"  
He quickly looked up at her, suddenly silent, his wiry form bathed in moonlight from the window beside him. He was sitting on the bed with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms around them. Purple streaks ran from his jaw to the corners of his eyes, his dark, pitiful eyes.  
The expression he held for the first second he looked at her was heartbreaking, but he wiped his eyes and smiled as soon as he processed what was happening.  
Well, his mouth smiled. His eyes still held that same remorse and sadness, deep down.  
"Oh yeah, yeah, sorry for getting all loud up in the middle of the night."  
Jane frowned and stepped in the room.  
"Are you sure?"  
He blinked twice and nodded with unintentional uncertainty.  
"You're lying to me."  
His smile faltered a bit, but he caught himself, like he thought maybe Jane wouldn't notice. She did, of course.  
"No, I'm okay, really, just a dream. A dream doesn't mean a mother fuckin' thing... it's all fake...."  
He stared ahead blankly as he spoke.  
"... It's all fake, it's all-"  
Jane had made her way to the bed at this point, and turned on the bedside lamp. She placed a hand on the now unsmiling troll's arm, cutting off his repetitive self assurance.  
"You're not okay."  
He shook his head.  
"Can I sit with you?"  
Now he nodded.  
Jane got up on the bed and sat across from him, mirroring his position. She smiled warmly at him and spoke again, her tone unintimidating and hopefully calming.  
"What was the dream about?"  
He hesitated before responding, his voice low and shaky.  
"Something... something I did a long time ago."  
"You can tell me if you think it will make you feel better. Whatever you did I won't judge you, I promise."  
He nodded a bit, and took a deep breath.  
"I hurt some people..."  
He wiped a new tear from the corner of one eye.  
"I hurt them because I thought I needed to, because he told me I needed to, but mostly because I thought it was the right think to do."  
"Who told you to?"  
He shook his head.  
"Doesn't matter. I hurt them, and they weren't going to hurt me, they just wanted to help."  
He shuddered.  
"I can see it, I can see their eyes, his scared, hers hurt, then both..."  
He touched his scars, eyes wide and tears streaming again. He looked up at Jane, like he expected her to be mad, then finished the sentence in a whisper.  
"Dead."  
A pause.  
"I killed them, Jane. Why did I kill them?"  
He closed his eyes tightly and pressed his fingers harder against his face.  
"I killed them, and I was happy. I felt accomplished, like I had pleased him, and I moved on to the next like nothing had happened. She caught me and stopped me, but I still didn't feel anything other than right, and I don't know why."  
He shook his head violently.  
"Why, why, why?!"  
His jaw was clenched and his teeth were bared. Jane could see small purple beads of blood poking out from under a few of his fingers.  
"I feel it now, I feel it all, I feel so much, I'm so so sorry, but sorry won't fit it, sorry doesn't bring back dead people! Sorry doesn't change that fact that I mutilated their bodies for my BULLSHIT RELIGION! SORRY DOESNT CHANGE THE FACT THAT I'M A FUCKING _MURDERER_ , AND NOTHING EVER WILL!"  
Jane couldn't help but make a face at this new side he was showing, this terrifying side he was showing. Eyes wide, she stared at him as he yelled for a few seconds before suddenly breaking off into violent sobs.  
A part of her knew what he had done was inexcusable, that he was bad and dangerous and couldn't be trusted. Another part of her wanted to console him, tell him it was okay, even though it clearly wasn't.  
Maybe her judgement was shot, but she found herself siding more or less with the second half.  
She placed a hand on his knee this time, though he hardly noticed. He shook with the loud, miserable sobs, his face now in both hands.  
Jane hasn't wanted to be too physically comforting, despite thinking it was a great way to help people, for fear of coming off as 'too pale' or something. She still didn't really get troll romance. She knew, however, that this wasn't working.  
She took a deep breath and moved across the bed to sit beside him. He froze as she made contact this time, his breathing uneven and dark, piercing eyes staring at her through his fingers. She took a nervous breath, assuring herself that a worst case scenario here couldn't be heroic or just because damn those eyes were really scaring her, and started humming. She hardly knew the tune and she definitely didn't know the words, but Gamzee seemed to recognize what she was doing instantly. His shoulders relaxed a bit, his breathing softened slightly, and although his eyes were still wide they carried less malice. The tune really _was_ nice, calming even to Jane who had only just heard it tonight.  
She held her hands up to his face, still humming, and gently grasped his. She slowly pulled them down and placed them on his knees, then stopped humming so she could speak. He closed his eyes and stayed still as he listened, seeming much less upset than the last time.  
"What's done is done, and I know it was bad, but you _can't_ take it back and sitting here berating yourself won't change that. You just have to recognize your mistakes and grow from them, to learn from the past- not dwell on it."  
He didn't respond, and in all honesty she hadn't expected him to. She had known it wouldn't do much, that his problems were way too big to soothe with a few kind words, but she had wanted to at least do something.  
They sat quietly for almost a minute before Jane spoke again.  
"Do you always sing when bad things happen?"  
He shook his head.  
"But does it make you feel better?"  
He responded with a whisper.  
"Kind of. It reminds me of my lusus."  
She smiled, although he couldn't see her, and placed a reassuring hand on his back.  
"Then you should sing again. If it makes you happy, do it."  
He raised his head a bit and eyed her confusedly. She nodded at him and he raised his head fully, a small smile trying to raise one corner of his mouth.  
"Will you... will you do it again too?"  
"Of course, if you want me to."  
He nodded. She smiled and began humming the soothing tune in response, and after a moment of hesitation he began whispering the words. Within seconds, however, he was singing again. His voice was low- a whole octave under Jane's- and calming, and he smiled a bit more with every drawn out word.  
By the end of the song they were both smiling happily, and just sat in content silence for a moment before Jane got up. She slid off the bed and walked to the door, pausing for a second when she reached it as Gamzee broke the silence.  
"Thank you."  
She turned her head and smiled again before walking out and going back to her room.  
She needed to sleep now, as something told her that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I tagged this as pale even though they never begin an official moirailigence (a day isn't long enough for that) but I think that if this were to continue, they definitely would :o)


End file.
